Peter Cornelius (1824-1874)
Nikolai Roslavets (1881-1944)
Lucrezia Bori (1887-1960)
Charles Wakefield Cadman (1881-1946)
Sir Vivian Dunn (1908-1995)
Teresa Stich-Randall (1927-2007)
Mauricio Kagel (1931-2008)
Arnold Östman (1939)
Libby Larsen (1950)
Hans-Jürgen von Bose (1953)
and
Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)
Dana Gioia (1950)
and from The Writer's Almanac
Today is Christmas Eve. One of the best modern Christmas Eve stories is a
true one, and it happened in 1914, in the trenches of World War I. The
“war to end all wars” was raging, but German and British soldiers had
been engaging in unofficial ceasefires since mid-December. The British
High Command was alarmed, and warned officers that fraternization across
enemy lines might result in a decreased desire to fight. On the German
side, Christmas trees were trucked in and candles lit, and on that
Christmas Eve in 1914, strains of Stille Nacht — “Silent Night” —
reached the ears of British soldiers. They joined in, and both sides
raised candles and lanterns up above their parapets. When the song was
done, a German soldier called out, “Tomorrow is Christmas; if you don’t
fight, we won’t.”
The next day dawned without the sound of gunfire. The Germans sent over
some beer, and the Brits sent plum pudding. Enemies met in no man’s
land, exchanging handshakes and small gifts. Someone kicked in a soccer
ball, and a chaotic match ensued. Details about this legendary football
match vary, and no one knows for sure exactly where it took place, but
everyone agrees that the Germans won by a score of three to two.
At 8:30 a.m. on December 26, after one last Christmas greeting,
hostilities resumed. But the story is still told, in a thousand
different versions from up and down the Western Front, more than a
century later.
On Christmas Eve in 1906, the first radio program was broadcast.
Canadian-born Professor Reginald Aubrey Fessenden sent his signals from
the 420-foot radio tower of the National Electric Signaling Company, at
Brant Rock on the Massachusetts seacoast. Fessenden opened the program
by playing “O Holy Night” on the violin. Later he recited verses from
the Gospel of St. Luke, then broadcast a gramophone version of Handel’s
“Largo.” His signal was received up to five miles away.
And from the Composers Datebook:
On this day in 1920, the last operatic appearance ever of the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso took place in an evening performance of Halevy's "La Juive" (The Jewess) at the old Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Caruso would die in Naples (where he made his operatic debut on March 15, 1895) at the age of 48 on August 2, 1921.
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